1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector, and particularly to an electrical connector for use in coupling two printed circuit board.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Examples of prior art are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,626,500 and Taiwan Patent Nos. 84203014 and 85203116. Referring to FIGS. 5-6, a conventional electrical connector 5 comprises an insulative housing 6 and a plurality of contacts 7. The housing 6 comprises a bottom 61, opposite sidewalls 62 extending upward from the bottom 61 and a central projection 64 extending upward from the bottom 61 and parallel to the sidewalls 62. A plurality of contact receiving cavities 65 are defined on both lower sides of the central projection 64 through the bottom 61 and are separated at regular intervals in a longitudinal direction by barriers (not labeled). Each contact 7 comprises a solder tail 72, a base section 71, a retaining section 73 and an S-shaped spring contact section 75. The solder tail 72 slightly slopes downward from one side of the base section 71 and then extends horizontally. The retaining section 73 upwardly extends from the other side of the base section 71 and forms arced projections 74 thereon to interfere with the barriers on each side of the contact receiving cavity 65. The S-shaped spring contact section 75 of the contact 7 has two U-shaped transitions 76 and a spring contact end 77 for contacting a mating element.
As the contacts are produced using a stamping and forming process, their manufacture is complex and a high precision punch is required to control the radial dimensions of the two U-shaped transitions. During production, one of two U-shaped sections may be inadvertently made into a V-shaped transition, thereby producing a contact with decreased resiliency and increased rigidity, thus increasing the force needed for insertion and extraction. Additionally, arced projections 74 of the contacts 7 can easily damage the thin barriers of the housing during assembly, causing short circuits between contacts 7.
Accordingly, an improved electrical connector is required to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.